> *"You see a grain of sand, simple and unassuming, so tiny you tell yourself: what could it matter? I see the reshaping of the world itself and the seed of a power that could devour nations." -Sana the Clever* ### Overview Practiced by the desert peoples of the East, Sand-Walking (also referred to as earth magic or sabulomancy) is a highly secretive discipline tied intimately to the princely families of [[The Dark Blood]] of [[The Kingdom of Talin]]. It is one of the younger varieties of the Art, as it draws its origins not from [[The Revealing]], but from some later wellspring. Their magical pedigree is somewhat unclear, but many historians of the Art suspect it is actually a version of shamanistic [[Elementalism]] from the [[Orcs]] mixed with the [[Blood Magic]] of [[Thauma]] prior to the Eth Empire’s conquest of the region. ### A History of Sand-Walking ##### Origins The first practitioners of what is today known as Sand-Walking enter the records in 150 RY. While little is known of these mysterious first men and women who could bend the desert to their will, the stories persist to this day of strange desert tribesmen coming together and burying an army of the first Eth Empire to breach the deserts in a massive wall of sandstorm that smothered even the fires of djinn. This event, known as the Great Maelstrom, marks the beginning of the tradition and would set the precedent for the Dark Blood’s interaction with the people of Ethilir for centuries to come. ##### The People of the Sand (151-300 RY) In the wake of the Great Maelstrom, the Eth Empire continued to push hard into expansion. Unlike the orcish hordes to the north, however, the natives of the deep desert did not have the numbers or physical power to contest the invaders on the open field and were feeling an equal pressure on their eastern flanks from the growing power of the magocracy of Thauma that had already come to rule much of what would one day become the Kingdom of Talin. In response to these incursions, the Dark Blood retreated deeper and deeper into the heart of [[The Sea of Sand]]. This moved them further and further from resources, especially food and water. It was into this suffering and privation that [[Hanadi the Wise]] (219-276 RY) was born. Stories surrounding her birth are conflicting, but every story agrees that from the very time of her birth, she was able to perceive using the Sight (see Magic for a description of this ability). Her inclination towards Sand-Wallking was said to be inborn, as even from a young age, Hanadi was able to both predict and calm the sandstorms that frequently trouble the Sea of Sand. She spent much of her childhood using her abilities to both protect her people and find oases or aquifers that allowed her people to survive. By the time she was twenty, Hanadi was well known to her people as a powerful source of wisdom. Her name is still spoken with special reverence, and by Dark Blood tradition, not given to another. Hanadi established both the legal code still honored by her people and was the first to hold the title of a unifying ruler for the tribes: Sultana. When the Eth Empire came again in the days of Hanadi’s middle years, the deserts were no more kind. The howling winds and devouring sands made any progress into the heart of the desert almost impossible, all directed by Hanadi and her students. Eventually the Eth learned the name of the one who was causing them their misfortunes. At the decree of Emperor [[Tjesh III]], a bounty was placed on Hanadi. Many Eth attempted to slay her and failed, but one of her students, [[Qasim the Faithless]] was seduced by the promises of the Eth and drove a poisoned blade into her heart as she slept. While his treachery was discovered and his head rolled, it was too late. With Hanadi died the independence of the Dark Blood, as the waiting Eth army corralled her people and forced them to make oaths of loyalty or die. In memory of Hanadi, fierce resistance continued until 300 RY, when the Eth empire captured and put to death 40 of the Dark Blood’s leaders, including Sultana [[Tahira the Bold]], Hanadi’s chosen successor. ##### The Silencing (301-625 RY) While many of the conquered peoples of the Eth were treated with a largely benevolent hand, the same could not be said for the defiantly independent tribes of the desert. They endured constant suppression and efforts to end their way of life, including the internment of many of their young at [[Jabasi]] and [[Okena]], in an effort to “civilize” and control their people. Sand-Walking was outlawed and even speaking of the practice was harshly punished. All mention of Hanadi’s name was stripped from what records existed and those who spoke of her were thrown into prison. Songs from this period often lament her loss, but refer to her only as “somebody” or “the unnamed one”. However, as is often the case, such harsh treatment only inflamed the rebellion burning beneath the surface. The remaining Dark Blood sand-walkers who were able to, those not interned and hiding their gifts, fled north and east into what is now the heart of Talin in the period from 301-346 RY. Where they had probably expected another encounter like theirs with the Eth, they instead found others newly incorporated into Eth rule who were very sympathetic to their plight. With Thauma’s power utterly broken, central and eastern Talin had reverted to the governance in small local ways of formerly independent nobles. A mutual defense pact was agreed upon in secret, and many of these formerly noble families became foster families for the Dark Blood and their sand-walkers in particular. In 613 RY, this close connection was cemented into an official alliance, albeit in secret, with the marriage of a sand-walker named [[Nura the Keen]] (591-628 RY), daughter of the al-Ramil line that traced its lineage back to the executed Sultana Tahira, and [[Évariste Delavigne]] (583-627 RY), a minor noble turned mercenary knight who was instrumental to the beginning of the Talinese independence movement. Both were fierce warriors and most tales agree that as well as being politically advantageous, it was a love-match between equals. It should be noted that the Serpentine Crown, the signifier and crown of the modern Talinese monarchy, was created in the image of their wedding ring. While their children would not sit on the throne in Talin, it is equally true that they have never been far from it either. The couple began agitating in secret for a break with the Eth, eventually ending in exposure for their plots. Évariste was beheaded in the summer of 627 RY, while Nura was dragged through the streets of Sarom in chains and then imprisoned. She died one year later to the day at the hands of Eth executioners, hanged like a thief, prophesying the end of the silencing of their peoples and the crushing collapse of the Eth with her last few permitted words. ##### The Second Great Maelstrom (626 - 685 RY) It is said that the story of Nura’s defiant words to the Eth were a death curse laid upon the Empire, which even if it is not literally true, may figuratively be. Word of her fate spread like wildfire across the Empire, inflaming the hearts of the Talinese already aggrieved by the death of her husband and his co-conspirators. A group of Talinese mercenaries led by the twin sisters [[Sana the Clever]] (626-684 RY) and [[Elodie Delavigne]] (626-690 RY), Nura and Évariste’s children, set out to liberate the Dark Blood imprisoned at Jabasi and Okena. Their force was far too small to conquer either city, but Sana’s use of sand-walking allowed them to both maneuver unobserved and then contend with the force of djinn guarding the prison at Jabasi. Their first prison-break in 646 RY was wildly successful, liberating more than four thousand imprisoned souls, including almost fifty sand-walkers, those who were careful enough to hide any traces of their ability. While some of the prisoners had had enough of any thoughts of resistance, the 3,300 who joined the cause were ready to fight to the death and pledged themselves to a great cause: the creation and preservation of a free Talin. They styled themselves [[The Thorn Knights]], as they would be as difficult to uproot and as sharp to their foes as desert thorns. With longevity of resistance in mind, Elodie Delavigne took most of this force back into the desert at her sister’s direction, aiming to return and liberate the Talinese heartland. Meanwhile, Sana made contact with friends within Okena only to learn that as retribution for their attack on Jabasi and the destruction of the garrison, those few Dark Blood who were still in Okena had been put to the sword. Bitterly enraged, Sana and her fellow sand-walkers laid a plan. Once word reached Sarom that Talin was in revolt, they would disrupt Eth supply and reinforcement lines with attacks blending magic and guerrilla tactics. In Talin, the revolts led by her sister Elodie, Lord [[Barraud Gauthier]], and Lady [[Margot Chalon]] were gaining traction quickly, as the Eth Empire failed to adequately respond, already exhausted from its wars attempting to conquer the wild lands of Ash Kordh. Rebellion spread from Talin like wildfire, the people of Yssa and Leus also sensing their opportunity to break the Eth’s dominion. While alliances of convenience were forged by the different rebels, hammered into shape by [[Drahomir the Great]] of Leus and Barraud, Ethilir’s armies massed in Genev for a push to crush the rebellion. It was entirely possible that this would have spelled a death blow for the largely far less experienced forces and fragile new alliances, had it ever been allowed to come to bear. When news of the massing force reached Sana, she made a desperate, but very well calculated move: advancing on the weakened cities of the Eth at their coastal heartland. Keeping her forces’ back to the desert, her small army of sand-walkers reinforced by thorn knights and some Talinese irregulars battered the defenses of the Eth, destroying large chunks of Okena and battering the capital city of [[Sarom]] itself with unnatural sandstorms. Her efforts forced the armies in the north to redirect, drawing them into the defense of their capital. The Eth were unable to transport the majority of their army by sea from [[The Kingdom of Genev]], so they advanced down the coastline in great number. Sana’s forces were engaged in a desperate battle against overwhelming odds just south of Jabasi, when the general herself along with 150 other sand-walkers channeled every drop of their life essence into summoning a massive sandstorm. The effect of this tremendous sacrifice was exponentially catastrophic for the Eth: accounts vary, but between the entire northern army and the reinforcements moving in the interior to engage with the rebels quickly advancing from Talin and Leus towards Sarom, an estimated 75,000 to 91,000 Eth soldiers and their allies were buried alive in moments. The storm was so violent and sudden that had its devastation not occurred directly before the eyes of the Talinese, Leyan, and Yssan armies, not a trace would have remained of the fate of all those soldiers. Remarking upon it afterwards, the account of Lady Margot Chalon reads: *“When the storm cleared, their desolation was so absolute that we saw no hint of civilization or solitary soul until we had reached the gates of Sarom itself. It was as if their pride and glory had never been, as substantial and real as a desert mirage*.” While the rebel forces were repelled and fractured at [[The Battle of Sarom]] in 685 RY, the Second Great Maelstrom was effectively the death knell of the Eth Empire. ##### The Restoration of the Sands (686-1000 RY) After the break between Ethilir and Talin was firmly established, the Talinese monarchy under King Barraud formally offered titles of nobility and rulership over all the desert claimed from the Eth to the great families of the Dark Blood, a relationship that exists to the present day. While the tribes do not expressly honor the established border (they wander and rule much of the Sea of Sand that belongs to the Eth according to maps), they pledged fealty to the Serpentine Crown with the understanding that sand-walking would be a permitted form of magic. Under Talinese law, practice of magic of all varieties except sand-walking is forbidden for citizens of the Serpentine Crown, largely a response to both Eth Fire-Speaking and Leyan Blood Magic. The sand-walkers found it more comfortable to remain in their deserts, with the Second Great Maelstrom still in living memory. The thorn knights became a core part of the Talinese military, particularly for checking the ambitions of both Genev and Leus, and where they went, sand-walkers were seldom far away. The tradition had its first revival after centuries of suppression, wielders always honoring the forebears that fought to free them as part of their tradition. For several hundred years, life settled into a largely quiet, comfortable rhythm broken only by the occasional flare up of war with their neighbors. That changed abruptly with the arrival of the Imperial legions and the destruction of Sarom that followed only days after. ##### The Great War and Aftermath (1001-1025 RY) The Imperial sacking of Sarom in 1001 RY is widely considered the opening salvo of [[The Great War]]. It sent many refugees, including Eth nobles and fire-speakers hated by the Talinese, fleeing north and east into the deserts. Instead of acting from a place of hostility or revenge, the Talinese Dark Blood offered both their protection to the refugees and, perhaps more importantly, the assistance of their sand-walkers to the cause of defending the East. At the command of King [[Phillipe IV]] of Talin, the thorn knights and sand-walkers of the Dark Blood engaged the legions of The Princes of Iron in a ruthless guerrilla war under the leadership of Duc [[Zayd al-Sajjad]] and Duchesse [[Shula al-Ramil]]. While they in no way had the numbers to defeat the Imperium and found that [[The Princes of Iron]] were far more careful and powerful than their old enemies, the combination of their forces alongside the remaining Eth and their storms were able to delay the Imperium’s arrival at [[Losena]] by a year. This desperate fight with heavy casualties on the Talinese and Eth side bought the East enough time to maneuver, and eventually ended in victory for the East in [[The Battle of Losena]], where the Princes of Iron were destroyed. The ascension of [[The Divine Imperatrix]] led to the slow rebuilding of Ethilir over the course of the next two decades until the Eth monarchy was restored to full independence from Imperial rule in 1025 RY. During this time, however, the Imperial legions and Talinese Dark Blood often came to blows in service of the Serpentine Crown’s ambition, though no war was long or very large. ### Characteristics and Abilities Sand-Walking is of course most famous for its ability to churn up and calm sandstorms, but the uses of it are as varied and creative as the ideas of its wielders. Sand is normally a very difficult element to control, as it is not “one” thing—Leyan mages who have attempted claim that each grain of sand has its own thread and thus behaves individually. Thus, Sand-Walking relies on what is called “bundling”, a manipulation of [[The Threads]] calling together disparate earth to behave as one entity. Sand-Walking, like most magical traditions, requires incantation and ritual. Most notably, they have a form of “locking” spells to create an ongoing effect kickstarted by the sacrifice of power. Unlike [[Elementalism]], where this is maintaining alone, the storms of Sand-Walking are ritual magic where this persistent effect is a positive feedback loop: the initial sacrifice of power grows and grows as it draws ambient magic out of the desert, ending only when the storm itself has completed the task outlined in the ritual. It is unclear how this is possible, given the blood price of magic, but some suspect that Sand-Walking has discovered how to use their blood price to kick off a chain reaction, and the deaths of those who perish in the storm only serve to feed it more. This certainly seems to have been true of the Great Maelstroms. Other common practices include the "flow-stepping" from which Sand-Walking derives its name, where practitioners are able to travel great distances with speed, riding the sand itself as it moves like a great serpent through the dunes, and walling, where sand-walkers sculpt the desert topography for defensive and other purposes. It is said that they can use their communion with the desert to easily find sources of water, which explains how the Dark Blood have survived so deep in the desert. Indeed, there are historical accounts of sand-walkers raising and lowering aquifers as well as opening them to catch rare desert rains and then sealing them tightly to cache water where only they and not their enemies can reach it. It should be noted that sand-walkers can manipulate any earth, not just sand. There are stories of them cracking the foundations of stone buildings and reshaping earthen-works, though this seems a more difficult feat than maneuvering sand (somewhat paradoxically, given the difficulty others have in getting sand to even go in the same direction). Their abilities can even affect metal to a much lesser degree, as the sand-walker in question adjusts grain structure, causes rusting, or reminds it of a time when it was fluid, heating the metal. This means that they are difficult to keep in captivity, something the Eth answered with the might of their djinn and ritual magic of their own. ### Limitations Firstly, sand-walkers cannot draw upon external sources, even in their conjuration of storms. The price paid is one they pay themselves, sometimes with lethal consequences if the effects are powerful enough. Secondly, while a sand-walker can manipulate any earth (something people seldom expect), their techniques are most effective in their native deserts. Thus, while they are hardly helpless beyond their native land, their efficacy drops sharply. In addition, their incantations can be disrupted in smaller effects by damaging their concentration, which would end the spell. For more powerful spells, such as summoning sandstorms, specific rituals are required. They cannot simply be willed into being with a few words: time, energy, focus, and a lot of knowledge are required. This is why sand-walkers in the process of such an endeavor are almost always well-concealed and heavily guarded. Any interruption of their ritual will damage the power of the effect. ### Practitioners The actual traditions of Sand-Walking are kept private among the Talinese Dark Blood and not shared with outsiders, though they will sometimes display their powers on either the battlefield or for exhibition to the Serpentine Crown. Most begin their training when they are very young, in an apprenticeship that often involves leaving their family for a time. The only known users of Sand-Walking have been human, despite the theorized bastard roots of the tradition. Many then spend their lives isolated or with the thorn knights, left to develop their skills in relative peace until called upon. Even those born to the nobility are part of this process, as the gift is recognized as being separate from and perhaps more important than a title. ### Political Ramifications Sand-Walking is certainly tied to political power among the Dark Blood, as evidenced by numerous political and military leaders with that expertise, but it does not necessarily translate one-to-one. For the most part, sand-walkers flow back and forth between ascetics who disdain the trappings of worldly things and advisors or leaders in dire times with an almost seamless ease. While their power to raise storms seems as though it would grant them dominion over their people out in the desert, most spend their lives on the fringes of the tribes—more connected to their element than their people. The very nature of their magic seems to select for grounded people, and it is not unusual for sand-walkers to engage in ritual hermitage during times of peace. It is said that even Sana the Clever spent many years of her life alone in the desert with only the sands and stars for company, and many sand-walkers will spend decades of their life the same way in honor of her and the other ancestors who came before them, a lifestyle seen as more worthwhile and laudable than that of a desert noble’s. ### Religious Outlook The opinion of most religious folk outside of the Dark Blood is that Sand-Walking is every bit as unnatural and destructive as [[Blood Magic]], since it has no real link to the gods as far as anyone is aware. While the practice is tolerated in Talin, it is usually viewed with a mixture of trepidation and suspicion always kindled by the clergy. In its native territory among the Dark Blood, however, the practice is seen as normal and even something revered, though not necessarily in the religious sense. Practitioners often frame their understanding of the desert as communion with the “small gods” of the empty places of the world, not unlike the shamans of Orcish Elementalism.